Turnip the Beet! High Quality Summer Meals Award Program

Nominations for Summer 2024 open on Thursday, August 1, 2024.

Nominations deadline is Friday, August 30, 2024.

Awarded by the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, the Turnip the Beet Award recognizes outstanding Summer Meal Program sponsors across the nation who work tirelessly to offer high quality meals that are APPETIZING, APPEALING, and NUTRITIOUS during the summer months.

For many kids across Georgia, summer break ushers in more fun and free time. However, for kids facing food insecurity, out-of-school time school can also mean limited access to affordable, nutritious foods.

Summer meal programs, like Happy Helpings, Georgia’s Summer Food Service Program, presents the opportunity to help alleviate summertime food insecurity and positively impact children’s growth and development by offering nutritious meals and encouraging children to develop healthy habits at a young age. High quality summer meals provide daily energy and help make sure children are healthy and ready to learn when they return to school in the fall.

This is an exciting opportunity for Happy Helpings sponsors to show how you are going above and beyond to ensure that children are receiving high-quality meals that are APPETIZING, APPEALING, and NUTRITIOUS.

To apply, sponsors may self-nominate or be nominated by another party. The nomination form for this award includes short-answer questions and menu criteria based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

The criteria include serving local foods, a variety of vegetables and fruit, whole grains, and low-fat and fat-free milk. Three award levels are available: gold; silver; and bronze. For more detailed information on the Turnip the Beet Award and the evaluation criteria, check out the Turnip the Beet webpage.

The deadline to submit nomination forms for summer 2024 is Friday, August 30, 2024.

Please submit complete nomination forms and supporting documentation to morgan.chapman@decal.ga.gov.

Questions? Contact Morgan Chapman, Nutrition Education Specialist at morgan.chapman@decal.ga.gov.